SJ BELANGEL hit the game-winning three at the buzzer as Gilas Pilipinas exorcised its demons by taking down Korea, 81-78, on Wednesday at the AUF Gym to formally book its spot in the 2021 Fiba Asia Cup.
Belangel called bank on an off-balanced three-pointer over Lee Seoung-hyun from a Dwight Ramos inbound as Gilas completed a fightback from 17-points down and beat Korea in the same heartbreaking manner that this team beat the Philippines in the past.
With the win, the Philippines remained unbeaten in Group A at 4-0 and secured of its seat in the continental showpiece in Indonesia this August.
Belangel, who was just in grade school when Gilas last won over Korea in the 2013 Fiba Asia Championship semifinals, showed a lot of heart by starting in place of the injured Matt Nieto and ended up as the unlikely hero.
The Ateneo guard fired 13 points, five rebounds, and two assists to preserve the country's immaculate record against the mighty Koreans at home and ended a run of bitter losses to this same team in their last six duels.
Dwight Ramos carried the torch for the Philippines with 16 points on 9-of-10 free throw shooting, to go with five rebounds and two steals in a game which saw a lot of heroes emerge from this young Gilas team.
Carl Tamayo added 10 points and RJ Abarrientos got six. They played crucial roles in Gilas' fightback when the country overcome an early 33-16 deficit before holding steady in a nip-and-tuck battle in the second half.
The victory, however, almost was stolen again as the Filipinos lost a 70-66 lead in the final 3:48 and allowed the Koreans to retake the lead, 75-70, after a Jeon Seong Hyeon three with 2:26 remaining.
Gilas crawled their way back, with Ange Kouame's putback with 10.5 seconds giving them a 78-75 advantage. His bonus freebie, though, did not fall that led to Lee Hyun Jung draining the game-tying triple with 2.8 left.
But it only made the come-from-behind win sweeter for the Filipinos and coach Tab Baldwin with Belangel delivering the goods much to the delight of the Filipino fans watching online.
Kouame chipped in 12 points and six rebounds in his first game as a naturalized player in a game that relegated the usual headliner Kai Sotto to a supporting role. The Filipino prodigy got 11 points and seven boards in his seniors' team debut.
Gilas will enjoy the fruits of this triumph before going back on Friday against Indonesia.
Ra Gun-A led the way for Korea with 24 points and 15 rebounds as the young Korean side suffered their first loss to drop to 2-1.
Lee, the standout from Davidson College, nabbed 15 points on 3-of-9 clip from distance, while Jeon also had nine in the defeat.
Korea shot itself on the foot as it only went 5-of-19 from threes in the second half, cooling off after its sizzling start.
It will look to rebound on Thursday against Indonesia (1-2).
The Scores:
PHILIPPINES 81 -- Ramos 16, Belangel 13, Kouame 12, Sotto 11, Tamayo 10, Abarrientos 6, Baltazar 6, Go 4, Nieto 3, Navarro 0, Tungcab 0.
KOREA 78 -- Ra 24, Lee HJ 15, Lee SH 9, Jeon 9, Kang 7, Moon 6, Yang 4, Kim 2, Lee DS 2, Byeon 0.
Quarters: 12-21, 36-44, 56-57, 81-78.
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